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Level 3 Designated Safeguarding Lead
This course is for the named designated safeguarding lead or deputy in a workplace, school, care setting or community organisation. It gives you the depth you need to recognise concerns about children and adults at risk, respond well to a disclosure, record and share information lawfully, and refer to the right people at the right time. It is grounded in England statutory guidance, and where the law differs across the UK it says so.
About this course
Hold the safeguarding role with confidence
The designated safeguarding lead is the person others turn to when they are worried about a child or an adult at risk. If you are the named DSL or a deputy in a workplace, a school, a nursery, a care setting or a community organisation, people expect you to know what to do when a concern lands, and to act calmly and correctly when it does. This course gives you that depth. It goes past the awareness level everyone gets and into the decisions the lead actually has to make, so you can recognise a concern, respond well to a disclosure, record and share information lawfully, and get the right help to the right person at the right time.
You will cover the role itself and the law behind it, how to recognise abuse and neglect in both children and adults at risk, how to receive a disclosure without making it worse, how to write records that hold up and share information under the seven golden rules, and how thresholds and referrals actually work through the levels of need. You will also work through the specific issues a lead has to understand today, from online harms and exploitation to the Prevent duty and the Mental Capacity Act, along with safer recruitment, managing allegations against staff, and leading a safeguarding culture across your organisation.
The course is grounded in England statutory guidance, including Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, Keeping Children Safe in Education, the Children Act 1989 and 2004 and the Care Act 2014. Where the law differs in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, it says so, and it points you back to your own local safeguarding partners for the thresholds and procedures that apply where you work. It is fully online and self paced, most learners finish in six to eight hours, and you keep access for twelve months. Pass the closing assessment and your CPD certified certificate is ready to download straight away.
What you’ll learn
What you’ll be able to do
By the end of this course you will be able to:
Explain the designated safeguarding lead role and the statutory framework it sits within.
Recognise the signs of abuse and neglect in children and the additional categories for adults at risk.
Receive a disclosure calmly, use TED prompts, and avoid the mistakes that damage a case.
Write factual, timed, signed records in the person’s own words.
Apply the seven golden rules of information sharing and share lawfully with or without consent.
Judge thresholds across the levels of need and make a referral to early help or the local authority.
Handle specific issues from online harms and exploitation to the Prevent duty and FGM reporting.
Lead safer recruitment, manage allegations through the LADO, and build a safeguarding culture.
Course content
Eight modules to work through
Each module builds on the last and ends with the material you need for the final assessment. Work at your own pace and return to any module during your twelve month access window.
1The DSL Role and the Legal FrameworkWhat the lead and deputy do, and the statutory basis for the role.⌄
- What a designated safeguarding lead and deputy are responsible for
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 and the three safeguarding partners
- The Children Act 1989 and 2004 and the duty to promote welfare
- The Care Act 2014, adults at risk and the six safeguarding principles
- Following your local safeguarding partners’ procedures and thresholds
2Recognising Abuse and NeglectThe categories, the signs, and why so much of it stays hidden.⌄
- The four categories for children: physical, emotional, sexual abuse and neglect
- The wider categories for adults at risk under the Care Act
- Financial, discriminatory, organisational, domestic abuse and modern slavery
- Self neglect and why it is treated as a safeguarding concern
- Signs and indicators, and the reasons abuse often goes unseen
3Responding to a DisclosureWhat to do, and what never to do, when someone tells you.⌄
- Listen, stay calm, and take it seriously
- Why you must never promise to keep it secret
- TED prompts: tell, explain, describe, and no leading questions
- Reassure the person that they were right to speak
- Record accurately and promptly, then act
4Recording and Sharing InformationRecords that hold up, and sharing that protects people.⌄
- Factual, timed, signed records in the person’s own words
- Separating fact from opinion, and recording what you actually saw or heard
- The seven golden rules of information sharing
- Consent, and when you can share without it
- Why the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR are not a barrier to sharing to protect someone
5Making a ReferralThresholds, the levels of need, and what happens next.⌄
- The continuum of need: universal, early help, targeted and statutory
- Early help and the multi agency response
- Referring to the local authority or the MASH
- What happens after a referral, and the timescales involved
- Escalating when you disagree with a decision
6Specific Safeguarding IssuesThe particular concerns a lead has to understand today.⌄
- Online harms and keeping children safe in a digital world
- Child sexual and criminal exploitation, and county lines
- Radicalisation, the Prevent duty and a referral to Channel
- Female genital mutilation and the mandatory reporting duty
- Mental capacity and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for adults
7Safer Recruitment and Managing AllegationsKeeping unsafe people out, and handling concerns about staff.⌄
- Safer recruitment basics and a safer culture from the first advert
- DBS checks and what the different levels cover
- The role of the LADO for allegations against staff and volunteers
- Low level concerns and why you record them
- Whistleblowing and a clear code of conduct
8Leading Safeguarding in Your OrganisationTurning the role into a culture that holds every day.⌄
- A clear safeguarding policy and procedures that people actually use
- Training the workforce and keeping everyone current
- Building a safeguarding culture where concerns get raised
- Record keeping, audit and working with partners
- Looking after your own wellbeing as a DSL
Who it’s for
Is this course a good fit?
This course is written for the person who carries the safeguarding role, and for the deputy who steps in when they are away. If people bring their worries to you, this is the level of knowledge the role expects.
Designated leads & deputies
The named DSL or deputy who is responsible for safeguarding day to day.
Schools & early years
Staff holding the role in a school, college, nursery or childcare setting.
Care & support services
Managers and leads in adult social care, supported living and home care.
Community & faith groups
Volunteers and leaders in clubs, charities, sports and places of worship.
Managers & HR
Those who handle allegations, recruitment and staff conduct.
Trustees & responsible people
Those who carry board level accountability for safeguarding.
Assessment
How it’s assessed
The course is assessed by a single online multiple choice test taken after the modules. It can be retaken as many times as you need at no extra cost.
End-of-course assessment
Study details
You can pause and resume at any point, and your progress is saved automatically. There is no time limit on the assessment itself.
Certification
Your CPD-certified certificate
Level 3 Designated Safeguarding Lead, CPD Certified
On passing the assessment, your CPD certified digital certificate is available to download and print immediately, with your name, the course title and the completion date. For an organisation it is dated, named evidence that your safeguarding lead and deputies are trained to the level their role demands, the kind of record inspectors and commissioners expect to see. We recommend refresher training every two years, or sooner if your local safeguarding partners update their procedures or the guidance changes.
FAQs
Questions people often ask
Is this a regulated qualification?⌄
Does it cover children and adults at risk?⌄
Does it apply across the whole UK?⌄
What resources are included?⌄
Can I train more than one lead?⌄
What other training pairs well with this?⌄
Ready to enrol?
Take on the designated safeguarding lead role with the knowledge and the paperwork to do it well. Enrol today, work at your own pace, and download your CPD certified certificate the moment you pass.
